body positivity at carleton college and beyond

Healing

So, as some of you may know, I sliced off part of my finger at work on the 25th. This prompted a trip to the ER, a splint and wound dressing, sympathy from coworkers, and respect when I decided to nonetheless finish my shift. I didn’t get stitches since I lost the chunk of flesh I chopped off, so it was up to my body to regrow it naturally once the bleeding was stopped. In addition, I have been in very little pain – I haven’t taken very many painkillers, and none over the past 4 days or so.

Over the past week and a half, it has been *absolutely fascinating* to watch the skin and flesh grow back on its own. The human body is absolutely amazing, and never have I been more aware of it than over the past week or so as I have watched my finger look better every day, and even after half a day when I look at night. The idea that I can abuse my body that badly, and it still (gradually) forgives me and makes it right again is utterly cool to me. The same thing happened to another person at work, and he’s been watching his finger do the exact same thing. I realized I’m super curious about marvelous feats of bodies doing what they’re supposed to.

So, I open it up for discussion. How has your or another body’s ability to heal amazed you?